Triple trouble
by Jupiter 13
Summary: During a fight, Seto says something really stupid to Jou. So the blond decide to punish him, in a rather… odd kind of way. SLASH! SJ
1. Chapter one

Triple-trouble

**Summary: During a fight, Seto says something really stupid to Jou. So the blond decide to punish him, in a rather… odd kind of way. SLASH! S/J MPreg**

**Disclaimer: Don't own**

**Warnings: SLASH! This means: guys in love with other guys.**

**Note: INTRODUCING MY OWN OC'S FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME!!! HOPE YOU'LL LIKE THEM! Also this is my first fic that will consist of more than one part!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter one

It was an amusing sight that met the employees of Kaiba Corporation as they arrived at work by seven o'clock on this particularly spring morning. Mr Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp, boss of all bosses, the commander in chief, was just stepping out of his limo and walking towards the entrance doors with long, determined steps, briefcase swinging in one hand, and the usual scowl on his face.

This, of course, was not an unusual sight, since he appeared at work in the exact same fashion every day. No, what were so amusing about it, were the two small, identical children trailing barely a step behind him, with a firm grip on the hem of his trench coat.

The children, who looked to be around four years old, were truly adorable. They were chatting animatedly with one another in some strange unknown language. The shaggy, blond hair with dark brown streaks was shining in the morning sun, and the small, chubby faces were, despite the early hour, awake and alert. The one to the right tugged a little at the trench coat in his hands and looked up at Seto Kaiba with oversized, twinkling eyes; one blue, and the other brown.

"Why did we have to come with you, today?" He asked the older man curiously.

Seto didn't even look down, only continued to walk. But his scowl deepened.

"Because your dad is an oversensitive woman sometimes," he replied tightly, and immediately regretted it: Natani was like a vacuum cleaner when it came to things like that. He knew for sure that before the day was over, Natani would surely have repeated the exact same sentence to Jou, effectively killing of his plan to make up with his blond husband.

The backside of having a child with photographic memory.

Just as Seto reached out to open the door leading into the large building, the voice of his chauffeur/bodyguard reached his ears.

"Mr Kaiba! Mr Kaiba, you forgot one!"

Seto turned back around, only to be met with the sight of his long time-chauffeur standing on the pavement, just outside the limo, with an irritated frown on his face. Dangling from the large, bulky man's hands was an exact replica of the two boys clinging to Seto's trench coat. The dangling child grinned and waved innocently in Seto's direction.

The CEO's blue eyes narrowed.

"If you can't keep up, you'll be left behind, Aiko," he stated.

"Hey!" The child to his left protested. "Da-ad! _I'm _Aiko!"

Seto still didn't look down, but he rolled his eyes.

"No, you're not. You're Kiichi. And you know very well that that trick doesn't work on me."

"Oh well, it was worth a try," Kiichi shrugged and grinned at Natani.

"Come on, I don't have time for this," Seto said and turned around to walk into the skyscraper.

The chauffeur put Aiko down on the ground and scowled down at him. The boy turned around and looked up at him with giant, beautiful eyes.

"Thanks for letting me sit up front," he said with his hands behind his back. "And I'm sorry if I bothered you."

The man's heart melted at the sight of the four-year-old looking up at him from under thick lashes. He bent down and patted the boy on the head.

"You didn't bother me, kiddo. Just stay away from the handbrake next time."

"Okay!" The boy chirped happily and skipped after his father and brothers into the head-quarter of Kaiba Corp.

The chauffeur shook his head and gazed fondly after the little rug rat. They were sweet kids, really, but completely out of control when Jou didn't keep an eye on them. He silently wondered for how long Kaiba could keep them in check.

He got into the car with an amused smile on his lips. Now, where did those car-keys go?

"Dad! Look what I took from the big man in the car! Some shiny, silver thing stuck beside the wheel! They jingle, dad! Listen!"

_THAT LITTLE BRAT!_

**There you go! First chapter done. Better spelling than in my other fics, since I finally managed to get myself a spell-check! YAY! What do you think of the triplets? Did you like the fic at all? **

**I've got chap. 2 lying around already. BUT I WON'T UPDATE UNTIL I'VE GOTTEN 8 REVIEWS!!!**

**R&R!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It had all started with a stupid fight about Seto's long hours at work. Jou was not happy about the fact that Seto left for KC at seven in the morning and didn't come home until one at night. Much like all their other fight, this one had been quite violent, if not physically, then at least verbally. A lot of things that they didn't mean had been said. Even a few "Mutt" and "Moneybags" from their years in High School had been hurled through their bedroom.

Despite their anger, they had both been careful to keep their voices down: the triplets were asleep only a few doors down, and the last thing they wanted, was to worry them. Children have a way of blowing things out of proportion, and would probably believe that they were on the brink of divorce or something. Which was definitely not the case!

Either way, among the many insults and accusations there was one that hit a little to close to home for Jou:

"I need to work so that I can support my family. Not that you would know anything about that!" Seto had sneered.

"An' what's that supposed to mean?"

"When was the last time _you_ worked, Jou? A few years, right?"

It was true; Jou hadn't worked for four and a half year, but the accusation was still unfair. _Jou_ had been the one to carry their children, and look after them once they were born. It wasn't that Jou didn't _want_ to work. He already had one: taking care of the boys, and if Seto had helped him a little more, it might not be bothering him so much.

And as he told Seto this, the brunette replied with the line which had caused this whole mess.

"Taking care of the children?" Seto had snorted. "Come on, Jou, as if that's an excuse. I've seen our kids. They are angels."

Jou had stared at him, completely dumbstruck for a moment, and then blew up completely.

"So that's what you think? That I sit around on my ass all day and think of new ways to irritate you?"

With two long strides, he was in front of Seto. He grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to glare into his eyes.

"Well, if that's what you think, then I've got news for you, mister. You only see our kids when you get home at midnight. You have _no idea_ what they are like during the day. But that's gonna change." He let go of Seto's shirt, stomped over to the bed, grabbed his pillow and bed cover, and marched towards the door. "I'm gonna sleep on the couch tonight. I don't think I can look at you right now. And tomorrow, _you _can take them with you to work! Let's see how well you do at keeping them under control."

"Kaiba Corp. is no place for children!" Seto protested. Jou stopped with one foot out the door, turned, and smiled venomously at his husband.

"Well, that won't be a problem, since they are such _angels_, right Seto?" He concluded, and slammed the door shut.

Seto knew that he probably could have handled all of that much better, but at the same time, he was angry at Jou. The blond acted as if he had ignored his family completely, which was far from true. He had taken a whole _year _of when the triplets were born, and he only worked seventeen hours at most. Before he had gotten together with Jou he could work twenty-four hours straight. Besides, he took two weeks of every year to be with his family. He _had_ changed his working schedule. Wasn't that enough?

"What are you doing?"

Seto was ripped from his thoughts by the small, innocent voice. Kiichi had somehow managed to climb onto his desk and was sitting with his legs crossed beside Seto's computer, and the strange eyes were fixed on his father. Seto had left the three boys with his secretary, convinced that the woman, who had three children of her own, would be able to entertain the triplets a lot better that he could. Especially since Seto had work to do. But it seemed as if Kiichi had somehow managed to sneak passed her and into his office.

Suddenly Seto realised that he hadn't typed a word since he had started thinking of Jou. He sighed quietly. It was the same every time they had a fight; he would go around and feel guilty until he saw Jou again. The only consolation was that he knew that Jou felt the same and that as soon as they could, they would make up.

"What are you doing?" Kiichi repeated.

Seto sighed, and with one last decision, that he would stop and buy something for Jou on the way home, he went back to the files on his computer, which he desperately needed to finish.

"I'm working on a programme," he answered Kiichi's question without taking his eyes of the screen.

The boy cocked his head to the side.

"Why?"

"Some idiot in the tech-department messed it up."

"Why?"

"Because those idiots down there barely know how to change a light-bulb, and since I'm the boss, I'm the one who have to take care of their mistakes."

"Why?"

Seto paused for a moment, and looked up at Kiichi.

"Why, what?"

"Why are you the boss?"

Seto blinked and went back to his typing.

"That, my dear son, is a long story that involves a lot of complicated words, your step-grandfather, and a broken window. It is definitely not suitable for children."

"Why?"

"Because."

"'Because' isn't an answer."

"It just isn't, okay?"

"But wh-"

"Kiichi!" Seto took one long, deep breath to make sure he wouldn't lash out on his son, and looked up. "Where… are your brothers?" He asked between gritted teeth.

Kiichi smiled widely at him.

"I have no idea!"

Before Seto could answer, the door opened and a very distressed looking secretary walked in.

"Mr Kaiba, sir, the boys…" she faltered when she saw Kiichi, put a hand to her chest and gave a relieved sigh. "Oh, thank god, one of them has been found," she stated.

Seto's eyes narrowed and he stood up.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, sir, it's just that… I was making a phone call, and when I was done, the boys… they… they…"

"No." Seto had gone pale, and a feeling of dread was stirring in his stomach. He stared unblinkingly at the woman. She looked like she might start crying very soon.

"I… I didn't think it would matter, but when I got of the phone they were gone. All three of them."

"How hard can it be to keep and eye on three four-year-olds?" Seto snapped and lifted Kiichi into his arms. "Inform security. We have to find them."

"Of course, Mr Kaiba." The woman disappeared out the door again. Relieved that her boss hadn't asked her whom she had called, and ashamed that her phone call, which had been to a friend, had caused this mess.

As Seto made his way to the elevators, he tried to calm down by silently telling himself that it was no big deal, and that they would find the boys soon enough. It wasn't as if they had disappeared in the middle of the city.

_No_, a voice in his head countered sarcastically. _It's only the Kaiba Corp. skyscraper, a building with fifty floors, forty departments, and over thousand employees. Not to mention that some of those departments can be really dangerous for a reckless kid. _

Seto banished the thought, and forced himself to focus on the problem at hand. But as he stepped into the elevator another voice had replaced the old one.

_Maybe Jou was right._

* * *

Natani was bored. He had lost track of Aiko a few floors ago, and had somehow ended up in what the grown ups would call the security office. Of course, Natani had no idea about this. When he first spotted the room, he didn't see the sign reading "Keep out"; he only saw the mystical door behind it. Thus, he was now sitting in a comfortable chair in front of the coolest video-game he had ever seen.

There was not only one TV to play on, no, there were hundreds of them, and on each and every one, there were men and women walking around, doing stuff he didn't understand or care about.

Natani looked thoughtfully at the buttons in front of him. Couldn't he take control of the people on the screens somehow, and make them fight, like uncle Mokie did with the characters in his games?

Natani pressed a button. All the other buttons started beeping and blinking. But nothing happened to the people on the screens. He pressed another one. A few doors on the screens slammed shut. Still not good enough.

He pressed a third button. Water came spurting from the roof and people covered their heads, screamed and dived in beneath their desks.

Now that was more like it. But still not what he wanted.

And that's when he saw it…

The _red_ button.

It was placed a little to the side on the control panel, and surrounded by protecting glass. A sign with the words "Press only in case of extreme emergency!" was placed right beside it, and even thought Natani could read despite his young age, those words was far less interesting than the button itself.

Natani had never really liked red. He preferred blue, like the colour of his daddy's eyes. But if there was one thing he had learned in his young life, it was that red meant fun. Whenever he pressed a red button, something big would happen.

Somehow, Natani just _knew_ that he would have fun if he pressed that button.

And so, naturally, he flicked the protection glass open, and pressed it.

And nothing happened.

Disappointed and bored, he plopped back into the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. Great! Now what?

"Hey, you!"

The demanding voice made Natani spin around. Four large men in dark-blue uniforms were standing in the door to his new playground, and they looked furious.

"It's just a kid!" One of them roared. "A fucking kid pressed the total-lock-down-button!"

"What the hell? How did he get in? Where did he come from?" The second one said and scratched his head.

"Doesn't matter! We gotta get him out of here and fix this up before we get in trouble!" A third answered.

Natani stared at them with wide eyes, completely stunned. His young mind couldn't really comprehend what they were saying. All he understood was the fact that four full-grown men were screaming at him, and he had no idea why.

"I'm gonna give you such a spanking," one of them threatened, and dived towards him.

Well, _that_ sentence he sure as hell understood. Quick as a weasel, he avoided the man's attack and sprinted toward the door. One of them stood in his way, with his arms stretched out in front of him, and his legs wide apart, completely blocking the door.

"Come on, you little eel," he growled. "You are not so slippery that you can get away from me."

In the middle of a step, Natani went down on his knees, slid between the man's legs, and out the door. Quickly, he was on his feet again, and sprinted down the corridor as fast a he could, the four men right behind him, screaming bloody murderer.

* * *

At the same time, the elevator Seto and Kiichi was standing in, 'beep'-ed once, and stopped.

"What the…?" Seto looked around. Kiichi, now standing on the floor, reached out and grabbed the hem of Seto's trench coat as tight as he could.

"_We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but the building is in lock-down at the moment._" A mechanical voice informed them. "_Please wait for the security-staff to come and assist you. They will be arriving shortly._"

Seto's eyes widened, as he realise what this meant. And once his brain had comprehended this information, only one thought ran through his head:

_Son of a __**bitch!!!**_

**Well, there you go! A plot! How exciting! **

**I really don't like this chapter, but then again, it doesn't matter what I think. Only what you think. I promise the next one will be better. **

**Well, you know the deal: 8 reviews for next chapter. **

**R&R!!!**


	3. Chapter III

Chapter III

It was a very sour-looking Jonouchi that made his way down the aisles of the super market on this special day, pushing a carriage in front of him, and now and then picking something or another from the shelves to throw in it, a task he normally performed with joy and eagerness.

Jonouchi Katsuya in the super market was not an unusual sight these days; ever since he had moved in with Seto Kaiba, he had been in charge of certain parts of the household, mainly the kitchen and food supplies. Honda's and Bakura's favourite hobby these days was thinking up new names for him; "housewife", "Kaiba's cook", and "mommy" were just a few of the names they had come up with, and far from the most colourful. But when it came down to it, they couldn't deny the fact that Jou was by far the best cook in the gang, and certainly fit for the job.

Either way, this particularly day, Jou was not as perky as he usually was during shopping-time. Two facts could easily explain this. First of all: the night before, he had had a fight with Seto, and was feeling guilty as hell, and secondly; his three sons, who usually went with him, and liked shopping just as much as their dad, was not with him, and he missed them!

For what must have been the thousandth time, Jou cursed the fact that he was such a bitch sometimes. He had to admit that dumping the kids on Seto, when he knew that the brunette was working his ass of in the office, had been unfair and jerk-ish. But truly, Seto's comment about him not doing anything, when they had three kids in the house, had set him of like few things could. Not only was he working his ass of to take care of the kids, there was also the fact that _Seto_ had been the one who wanted him to quit his work when they got the boys.

Jou had been more than a little surprised to learn that Seto Kaiba was actually very old-fashioned when it came to home and family. When it was just the two of them, it was okay with the many different jobs Jou had; instead of sitting around in the mansion, waiting for Seto, he had something to do. But when the triplets came along, Seto had naturally put the task of raising them on Jou, expecting him to stop working for them, while he made all the money.

This hadn't really bothered Jou: after all, he only had his part-time jobs, while Seto was the manager of a large company, and he was more than happy to spend all of his time with the three bundles of joy and hyper activeness that was his rug rats.

More importantly, he knew instinctively how important it was for Seto to feel like he was doing something worthwhile. It was actually because of the kids that he spent all those long hours at work.

Because no matter how hard it might be to believe, Seto was one whipped parent.

All the triplets had to do was point at an object, no matter how big, exclusive or expensive, and use those big puppy-dog-eyes on him, and the object was theirs. And Seto would work for years without break to keep it that way.

Not that Seto really saw his children that often these days. The first year and a half, Seto had been so thrilled and shocked at being "turned into" a father that he had spent all of his time with them. Jou remembered a time when Seto barely remembered he _had_ a company, and when he could be sitting beside the crib, simply staring at the small boys for hours at end. The memory of Seto's expression when the nurse had placed the three boys in his arms for the very first time still made Jou laugh.

But when that time had expired, things almost went back to normal. Sure, Seto had started spending _a few_ more hours at home, eating breakfast with his family almost every day, but then he disappeared and didn't show up until late at night.

And quite frankly, it scared the shit out of Jou; what if he missed the triplet's whole childhood? What if he came home one day and realised that he didn't know shit about his own kids? What if the triplets forgot about him?

Thus, leading up to the fight they had had the night before.

_Maybe I'm simply spoiled_; Jou mused and put a package of cereals in the carriage. _Maybe I've gotten too used to having Seto around. Maybe that's what bothers me so much, and not at all the fact that he might be missing out on our children's lives?_

Because Jou could honestly say that he missed those times with Seto.

The sound of his cell phone woke him from his thoughts. He hadn't realised that he had almost reached the cash desk. Quickly he pulled the cell phone from his pocket (the wallet was in the other, he still carried his things in pockets rather than in bags; a habit he kept from his teens. Besides, he might be gay, but what man goes around carrying a purse anyway?) and pressed the 'talk'-button.

"Yeah, Jou here."

"Mr Jonouchi, sir?"

Jou frowned and pulled a hand through his hair.

"Isono? What's up? Shouldn't you be keeping an eye on the mansion security?"

"I'm afraid something… ells came up." Isono almost sounded insecure.

Jou felt the colour drain from his face. Something… ells?

"Tell me," he demanded. And Isono did.

Two minutes later, he left the super market on top-speed, with screeching tires and two thoughts ringing in his head.

The first:

_I knew it! I fucking knew it!_

And the second:

_I'm gonna kill those rug rats!_

* * *

Aiko had been really angry at his dad when Seto had forced him to return those jingling, shining things to the big man in the car, with a huge apology and the promise that he would never do anything like that again. Then, Seto had proceeded with telling him that he was never allowed to sit up front again. 

Honestly! How was _he _supposed to know that those things were needed to start the car? He wasn't some kind of Albert Weinst… Alfred Einst… He wasn't a smart person!

So he had been really angry at his dad back then, but now, he wanted nothing more than to find either him, or Natani again. He had no idea when he had lost track of his identical, twenty-minutes-older-brother, but being alone in Kaiba Corp. was really scary. Even more so now, when all the windows and exits had been covered in metal and was impossible to open.

Everywhere he went, people were running around like headless chickens, and he had lost track of all the times he had been forced to find a place to hide, just so that they wouldn't find him. Right now, he just wanted to find Natani and go back to his father's office, before anyone noticed that they were missing. Maybe the nice lady was done talking in the phone by now.

He rounded another corner, and felt a small, electric tingling at the base of his spine. One of his brothers, probably Natani, was close by. He could feel it.

_BAM!_

And Natani truly was close by: he came running from a corridor to the left, and ran straight into Aiko, ending with the two boys in a heap at the floor with Natani on top of Aiko.

"Aiko?" Natani looked down at his brother with huge eyes.

"Natani?" Aiko answered. He was a bit dizzy from the impact. "I've been looking for you."

"Can't talk now!" Natani quickly got up and reached out a hand to help his brother. "They're after me! We need to run!"

"Run? They?" Aiko automatically took his brother's hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. "Who's after you?"

"_There he is_!!!"

"And look! There's the other one!"

As one, the boys turned around to stare wide-eyed at the two large men rushing towards them like a pair of crazy mammoths or something.

"_Run_, Aiko! Before they catch us!" Natani shrieked and pulled his brother with him when he turned and ran. "Run like hell!"

"We're not allowed to swear! Dad's gonna kill you!" Aiko called as he tried to match his brother's steps. He glanced over his shoulder. The mammoths were still there. "I wanna go home!" he cried, but was way too scared to stop. The men were so heavy that they made the floor shake as they ran. No wonder the two four-year-olds were scared shitless!

"Quick, in here!" Natani suddenly turned to the left, ran into a room and slammed the door shut. Then he bent over slightly, and cupped his hands in front of him. "Lock the door, Ai!"

Aiko nodded and put his foot in Natani's cupped hands. When Natani straightened, it was just enough for him to reach the lock. They had done the same thing countless of times at home, when they were running away from their baby-sitters or dad.

_Click!_ Aiko turned the lock.

One second later, one of the large men grabbed the handle and began pulling at the door. Natani and Aiko fell backwards against the door, and gave a relieved sigh.

Too soon.

"Give me the keys."

The boys stiffened as they heard the command on the other side of the door, followed by the jingling of a keychain. They looked at each other.

_No way!_

"What are we gonna do!" Aiko whispered hoarsely. He looked like he might start crying soon.

Natani looked around wildly for an escape route, but all he could see were desks and computers. And the floor was wet. Otherwise, there was nothing…

Then he noticed the shutter in the wall to his right. It was a round metal lid and on a sign next to it, was the word "**refuse chute**" written.

"Come on!" He said and grabbed a chair from the closest desk to stand on as he reached for and opened the lid. "We'll escape through this."

"It looks very tight," Aiko commented after a look down their dark escape tunnel.

"Can't be that bad," Natani assured him. "It's better than being eaten by those giants."

"You think they'll eat us?" Aiko asked breathlessly.

"It's not impossible. You go first."

Natani helped his brother into the hole with his feet first, until only the head was visible.

"It smells down there," Aiko commented weakly.

"I'll be right behind you," Natani answered confidently. "And once we've gotten away from those monsters, we'll find daddy, okay?"

"…Okay."

The next moment, the lock turned, and the door slammed open. The security guards came rushing in, and as they spotted the two boys, one standing beside the refuse chute, the other actually _in_ it, they both turned deadly pale.

"Wait! Stop!"

"Kiddos, come here!"

"Go, Ai!" Natani cried and pushed his brother completely into the hole. "_Save yourself_!"

"_NO!_"

One of the guards launched himself at the hole, but was too late. With a high-pitched 'whiiiiiiiii' Aiko slid down the dark passage and disappeared. And they couldn't follow.

"Mr Kaiba's gonna kill us," the one with his hand down the refuse chute stated weakly.

While the two guards were still trying to comprehend what had just happened, Natani jumped down from the chair and hid beneath one of the desks. They had him now, for sure, but he couldn't help but feel a little proud.

_Well, at least Ai's safe_.

**Man, did it take time to get these 8 reviews together or what?! It's really depressing when you only need ONE MORE to post, but people just seem to be unable to review! Oh well, I'm not changing my mind! I still want 8 more to get this baby going. Hopefully, it will not take as long this time... **

**Hope you liked it! **

**8 reviews for chapter four! **

**R&R!!! **

**NOTE:**** Some people have been asking me about the history behind the triplets. I'm not gonna reveal that in this story, since it won't fit in with the plot, BUT! keep an eye open for my One Shot: "The downside of happiness". In that piece I'll reveal how Natani, Kiichi and Aiko came along. **

**Chiao!**


	4. Chapter four

Chapter four

Isono was already standing outside Kaiba Corp. when Jou arrived. Along with Seto's chauffeur, three police patrols, a fire truck, and a sea of reporters who threw themselves at Jou as soon as he stepped out of the car.

"Mr Jonouchi! Mr Jonouchi, what is the reason for this unexpected lockdown of Kaiba Corporation?"

"Is there some new, unique game that Mr Kaiba is trying to keep a secret until they're done testing it?"

"Is there some kind of threat against the company? Is that why Mr Kaiba have activated it? Mr Jonouchi, are we dealing with some sort of terrorist attack here?"

"Have you had any kind of contact with your husband since the lockdown was activated?"

"What about the people inside the building? Will they be able to reach their close ones?"

"Mr Jonouchi, is it true that once lockdown has been activated, KC stays completely isolated for twelve hours?"

The questions flew like bullets on a battlefield during World War II, and were accompanied by sharp flashes as photographers tried to get a shot of the young man. Jou felt a bit woozy for a moment, and then Isono grabbed him and pulled him from the mob of journalists to the area the police had bared. They weren't allowed there.

"They're like hungry wolves," Isono muttered and brushed some dust from his suit. "This is _not _the kind of publicity Kaiba Corp. needs. Mr Kaiba will _not _find this amusing at all. It's obvious that someone's made a mistake- Mr Kaiba would have told me about this otherwise- and when mistakes lead to incidents like this one, heads are going to roll, for sure. We will have to come up with some sort of excuse of course, but there will be people who are going to look deeper into this, and if some idiot have screwed up-"

"Isono," Jou interrupted. "My whole family is in there."

Isono nodded and turned around to look up at the huge skyscraper.

"I know, Mr Jonouchi. Mr Kaiba informed me about that small detail this morning. But as you know, we have no possible way of getting into the building during the next…" he glanced as his watch, "ten hours and fifty minutes. But don't worry: I'm sure Mr Kaiba will keep and eye on them."

"No, you don't understand!" Jou moaned. "Neither you nor Seto know how wild they can be. They attract trouble ten times more than a normal kid. And there are _three_ of them! Thirty times the trouble, Isono! And Seto doesn't know that!"

Isono stared at him with a blank look for a moment, and the, very slowly asked:

"You think they caused this lockdown?"

"I _know_ they did!" Jou pulled a hand through his hair and gave an exasperated sigh. "And it's my fault entirely. I knew about the chaos that ensues when they're around, and still I let Seto take them. Poor, poor Seto."

Isono actually patted him on the back.

"Mr Jonouchi, pardon me for saying this, but…" he hesitated for a moment, "I think you are overreacting. Natani, Kiichi and Aiko are four years old. I highly doubt that they would be able to cause much trouble in a place like Kaiba Corporation. And I also think you should put a little more faith in Mr Kaiba. He will not let something like that happen." He took a step back and _almost _smiled at Jou. "And now, if you excuse me, sir, I will have to make a statement in Mr Kaiba's place. We can not let these harpies believe that we do not have full control of the situation."

Jou watched him turn around and walk away. Part of him desperately wanted to believe Isono, but Jou knew that Isono was as oblivious to the things the triplets could do as Seto. Maybe even more.

_Ten hours, Seto_, he thought and looked up at the skyscraper with worried eyes. _You only have to hold on for ten more hours. _

That really wasn't a comforting thought.

* * *

Kyoshi, the chief of security, put down his cell phone and turned to the people around him. He, Mr Kaiba's secretary, a few leading scientists and some of his security guards had gathered in the cafeteria on the orders of Mr Kaiba himself. Fortunately, even thought cell phones didn't work to contact people outside the building, they were still useful to contact other people _inside _of it, giving their CEO the chance to call up his secretary and call them to a meeting in the cafeteria. A team of technicians were getting him out of the elevator right now.

"Rimuta just called," Kyoshi informed the people around him. "He and Tomoki have found one of the boys. They're getting him here right now."

"Thank god!" Mrs Yamuru, Seto's secretary, breathed. "I was so worried. KC is no place for children, and I was so afraid that they would come to harm, all because of my stupid phone call."

"Don't get too relieved," Mr Quinn, one of the scientists, sneered. "One is still on the loose, and Mr Kaiba will surely be in a bad mood once the tech team gets him out of that-"

"Mr Kaiba!" called Kyoshi. "At last."

Every pair of eyes in the room fixed on the young man in the cafeteria entrance. Seto Kaiba was standing before them, his hair a little bit messier than usual, his trench coat wrinkled, his face set in a scowl and one of his three sons on his hip.

Never had any of them seen a man looking so furious.

"Where…" His voice was so cold that most people took a nervous step backwards, "…are my children?"

Kyoshi gulped and tried to pull himself together. It was a very hard thing to do when he had goose bumps all over and his knees were shaking. He had long since gotten use to the feeling of being put down by a man half his age, but he had never been as afraid of Kaiba as he was right now. The man had been scary even at the age of seventeen. The scariness had not disappeared with age.

"A-a team of security guards have found one of them," he stammered. "Th-they are bringing him to us right this moment."

"Which one?" Seto asked.

"I-I-I don't know, Mr Kaiba. They couldn't tell."

"And the other?"

"They… they'll tell us once they get here, sir."

Seto's eye narrowed, but he forced himself to stay calm. Half of him was furious, and the other half a mix of panic and fear that he had never felt before. Being locked up in an elevator, waiting to be freed, had definitely not been good for him. After a while, his finger had been itching, and a dull ache had formed in his head, and it was only because of Kiichi that he had stayed calm.

Now, finally free, he was not going to hold back.

"Good," he snapped. "Now when that has been taken care of- or almost at least- let us sum up the situation thus far."

Still with Kiichi in his arms, Seto slowly started to walk over the floor, glaring at each and every one of his employees, and then turned and walked back in the same manner. A kind of slow, slow pacing.

"For the last two hours, two of my sons have been missing, my company has gone into complete lockdown, and I have been stuck in an elevator." People were staring to shiver under the force of his glare and the iciness of his voice. Some stared at the floor like small, ashamed children.

"Once I get _out _of that elevator, I find three fourths of my staff running around like idiots in panic, and my children still missing. As if that is not enough, the lockdown have surely roused _every single _new paper in town, and they are probably waiting right outside the building for an explanation to all of this." He spun around. "Have any of you got an explanation? Have any of you thought about what we are going to tell the journalists. Or did all of you think that we were going to walk out there and tell them that we went into complete isolation for twelve hours because of a four-year-old?"

No one answered. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the floor.

"And here I thought I had actually hired some intelligent people." Seto hissed and turned his back to all of them.

Complete silence passed for a few minutes, and then Mrs Yamuru cleared her throat.

"Mr Kaiba, I don't think-"

"You want to know what I think about all this." Seto turned around again, and now his voice was strong, dark and dangerous. Mrs Yamuru took a frightened step back. "No you don't, not really, but I am going to tell you anyway. There is only one question running through my mind right now. Only one. How could _two four-year-olds_ get passed over a thousand grown people, out-smart security, and press the one button that _no one_ is allowed to touch?"

They were all as pale as white sheets by now, and Seto was shaking with rage. Despite this Kiichi was dosing comfortably in his daddy's embrace, knowing that none of the harsh words or cold looks were directed at him.

"Well?" Seto asked at last. "Can any of you answer that?"

His employees were spared from answering, because right that moment, the door to the cafeteria slid open and a child's voice could be heard from outside. A voice which made Kiichi sit up straight and blink happily at the door, and Seto's face relax a bit in relief.

"I won't go down without a fiiiiiiiiiight!" Natani cried as he was practically dragged into the room by two burly security guards. He was trying to dig his heels into the floor and rip his small hands from their firm grip. "If you're going to eat me, I'll take a few of you with me down, you big, lumpy, giant-like-"

"Natani." Seto's voice sounded a lot more relieved and tired, and a lot less stern, than he would have liked it to sound. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Behave."

Natani stopped his ministrations and looked up at the well known voice, his whole face lighting up as he recognised his father.

"Dad!" he cried and rushed up to Seto, not even noticing that the guards were letting go of him at last. He hugged him tightly around the waist- or rather legs, since he was way to short to reach Seto's waist. "I'm so glad to see you! These guys were going to do something terrible to me! I was really scared!"

"They weren't going to harm you, Natani," Seto sighed. "They were supposed to bring you and Aiko to me, whole and clean."

Natani looked up at him. He looked truly surprised.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Oh."

Seto stared down at him. There was something in Natani's tone that gave Seto chills. That hadn't been an I-just-happened-to-brake-dad's-favourite-computer kind of Oh, neither had it been the I-understood-something-that-I-have-never-understood-before kind of Oh. No, that had been the I-just-beat-up-a-guy-for-screwing-with-my-sister-and-then-found-out-I-picked-the-wrong-guy kind of Oh. The worst kind.

Slowly, Seto put Kiichi down beside his brother, kneeled before the two boys, and looked Natani deep in the eye.

"What did you do?"

Natani shuffled his feet and looked at the floor. There was a huge knot forming in Seto's stomach by now. Slowly, he raised one hand and squeezed Natani's shoulder lightly.

"What… did… you do?" he asked again.

And suddenly Natani grasped his hand and started blabbering as if he thought his life depended on it.

"It really wasn't my fault, dad! They scared me shitless, and I was simply trying to get me and Ai to safety. How was I supposed to know they were trying to help? Please don't be mad at me dad, I really didn't mean to cause any trouble, it's just that those men were chasing us and had us cornered and I had no idea what we were supposed to do, and then I saw that hole in the wall-"

"Hole in the wall? What hole?" Seto interrupted. He squeezed Natani's shoulder a little tighter. "Natani Katsuya Kaiba," it always worked when Jou called them by their whole name, "where is your brother?"

"The… the hole… I pushed him into it, but I was only trying to save him from those men! Dad… I… dad, I'm sorry!"

And then he threw his arms around Seto's neck, pressed his face into his shoulder and sobbed violently. From beside him, Kiichi almost grinned. He himself was not half bad at faking tears, but Natani was simply the best. Seto didn't notice though; he simply stroked his back consolingly and turned to the two guards which had brought Natani to him. They looked very nervous.

"What hole is he talking about?" Seto asked calmly. They almost ran away screaming.

One of them, Rimuta, muttered something while keeping his eyes on the floor, but no one caught what it was.

"Do I look like I have time for you hesitation?!" Seto snapped. "Tell me what the hell he is talking about, so that I can go and get my son!"

Kiichi giggled and whispered "dad swore" to himself, but no one heard it since the guard cleared his throat loudly.

"Yes, of course, sorry sir," he said stiffly, and took a deep breath. "The other boy escaped through one of the refuse chutes which have been installed on all the office-floors. We couldn't stop it sir."

People were gasping and looking shocked. Kyoshi looked deathly pale, Quinn like he might puke, and Mrs Yamuru promptly fainted. Kiichi shot and impressed look at Natani, whom grinned back, but no one noticed.

"Impossible," someone behind Seto whispered to the person next to him.

But it was possible. Very much possible. The triplets were small, even for their age, and he didn't doubt that the refuse chutes were big enough for them. Weren't those child proof, though? Hadn't he thought of that when he installed them? Hadn't _someone_ thought about it? No, of course not, because _no one brings children to Kaiba Corp._

"_You only see our kids when you get home at midnight. You have __no idea__ what they are like during the day._"

Jou had told him. He had told him! And he hadn't believed him! Oh, god, how could he have ever questioned Jou's efforts? Never again would he claim to be the only one in the house working. And how could he have believed the triplets were easy to handle? Had he truly known so little of his children?

Seto carefully pulled free from Natani's arms and sunk down on the closest chair. He hid his face in his shaking hands, and for a moment, the room was completely silent.

After a few minutes, Seto lifted his face and stood up again. A new determination was growing inside of him. He could flip some other time. Right now, he had a child to find. He turned to the Kyoshi.

"Get me to the garbage room."

**It sure as hell went faster to get my reviews this time! YAY! Could it be because you liked the last chapter? I really hope you liked this one too! There's only one chapter left now, and I really wanna get this baby done! **

**Only 8 more, folks! You know what to do! (And even if I've gotten my 8 reviews, you're of course more than welcome to review anyway!) **

**R&R!!! **


	5. Chapter 5

**NOTE:**** Hello readers! As you might already know, "Triple Trouble" is soon coming to and end. But before I do end this baby, I really wanna know what you thought of the stars of the story; Natani, Kiichi and Aiko Kaiba. Did you like them? Hate them? Would you like me to write more fic's with them? Do you never wanna see them again? I REALLY WANT YOU TO TELL ME IF YOU WANT ME TO WRITE MORE FIC'S WITH THEM! I WOULD LOVE TO! HONESTLY! **

**So yeah, that's about it! Send me a review and tell me. Depending on how many I get, I might or might not post more with the boys. THANKS IN ADVANCE! **

**Now, at last; on with the story! **

Chapter 5

The garbage room of Kaiba Corp. was on the very lowest level in the whole building. Farther down than the staff garage, farther down than the top secret science-labs, in an large room that could only be reached by a traffic tunnel outside the skyscraper (which through a garbage truck emptied it once every sixth month) and by a small, dark staircase. No elevator went far enough to take people to that level, but now, with all elevators shut down, Seto and the security team escorting him had to walk down _all _the stairs from the office level, to the garbage room.

_It could have been worse_, said a small voice inside Seto's head, which sounded suspiciously like Jou. _You could have been walking __**up **__the stairs instead of walking down them. _

That must have been the only good thing about all of this. The lockdown… the media storm it was going to cause… even Jou's rightful anger, it all paled in comparison to the fact that Aiko was locked up in a cold, dark, smelly place full of garbage. That Natani and Kiichi was trailing behind him, once again with a firm grip on the trench coat, (he had vowed to not let them out of his sight even for a second until all of this was over; if there was one thing you could say about Seto Kaiba, it was that he did not make the same mistake twice) was only a small comfort.

What if Aiko wasn't there once they opened the door? What if he was stuck somewhere in the tunnel, alone and afraid, and unable to move? What if he had been screaming for help and no one had answered? Oh god, what if he was, and they couldn't get him out?

He missed Jou. As pathetic and weak as it may sound, Seto had never whished for his lover as much as he did right now. It felt like an eternity since they had last seen each other, even though it had only been the same morning. Even though he knew how pissed Jou was going to be at him, all he wanted to do was take the blond in his arms and kiss him all over. Oh, why hadn't he listened to him?! Maybe then, Aiko wouldn't be missing... What was he saying? Of _course_ Aiko wouldn't be missing! Jou actually could _control _their children! Something Seto had proven he was unable to do. And now, Aiko had to suffer because of his disability!

_Pull yourself together_, Seto snapped at himself. _Regret, self-loathing and angst is not going to help Aiko. If he's in that room, everything will be okay. And if he __**is**__ stuck somewhere… I'll simply have to tear down a few walls._

Seto was pulled from his thoughts when Kyoshi, walking if front of him, came to an abrupt halt. Seto had been too engrossed in his thoughts to notice that the light had become weaker, the stairs had become steeper and that the temperature had dropped. They were all standing in front of a steel door with multiple locks, and Seto realised that they had reached their destination.

He glanced at his watch. They had left the cafeteria at twelve thirty. Now, it showed him five minutes to one. He gritted his teeth. Had it really taken them twenty-five minutes to get here? For how long had Aiko been locked up now? An hour?

If it hadn't been for the fact that Seto's hands were shaking so bad, he would have pushed Kyoshi out of the way and opened the door himself. As it was, he had to stand by and watch as Kyoshi agonisingly slowly picked the keys out of his pocket and opened the locks, one after another. After an eternity, the last one clicked open, and Kyoshi opened the door.

He had to quickly step aside as Seto stormed into the room and looked around wildly. The light flicked on automatically as he stepped into the room, and his blue gaze flew over the sea of garbage. His panting breaths made small clouds in front if his face. The smell was bad, but far better than he had expected.

"It's really cold in here," Kiichi whispered and pushed himself closer to his brother.

"It has to be," Kyoshi answered. "It keeps rats out, and the garbage doesn't smell as bad as it would have if it had been hot in here."

Seto felt his heart clench at those words. _Aiko must be freezing! _

He didn't care if his boots got dirty as he jumped from the little platform the door was placed on, right onto the garbage, or the fact that Kiichi and Natani had let go of his trench coat in pure surprise at their father's sudden movement. All he cared about was finding Aiko.

"Aiko!" he called anxiously. "_Aiko!_"

"Yo, Ai! It's okay! You can come out now!" Called Natani, with his hands cupped around his mouth. "Turns out those guys were trying to help us! You really didn't need to go down that hole!" He laughed. "Funny, isn't it?"

Seto wandered farther away from the platform. His eyes scanned every little inch of the trash, in search for a flash of blonde hair, or anything. Panic started to run through him as he, after a few minutes of searching and calling, realised that Aiko might not be here.

And then a couple of newspapers rustled a few feet from the spot he was standing, and a blonde head became visible underneath them.

"Dad?" Aiko's voice was like sweet music to his ears. He looked like a hobo; wrapped in old newspapers, smelling and his face dirty, but he was there: safe and unharmed.

Seto was at his side before anyone could blink, and he quickly reached out and pulled Aiko into his arms, with newspapers and everything. He didn't even care that Aiko smelled, or that his trench coat got big smudges on it from pressing the boy to him, or that he had accidentally kneeled in a puddle of some slimy goo.

Kyoshi and his security team, along with Natani and Kiichi, whom had joined Seto in the garbage sea in search for the boy, gathered around them, but Kyoshi quickly shooed them back to the door. Mr Kaiba deserved some privacy with the boy. His eyes were almost tender as he gazed at the pair once, before joining the others.

"Aiko, I'm so sorry," Seto whispered to him. "I'm sorry that I didn't watch you myself, I'm sorry you had to wait down here… I'm sorry… Oh, I've been so worried."

"Dad," Aiko whispered in his ear, "There are rats down here."

"Yes, yes, it must have been frightening, and dark, and cold, and I'm so sorry I didn't show up earli-"

"Da-ad!" Aiko whined and pushed Seto away. He pulled back a little, but only so that he could look Aiko in the eyes. The boy didn't look frightened or traumatised at all. Only a little irritated.

"I'm not a baby, dad," he whispered. "I'm not afraid of the dark, or rats, but I just thought I should tell you that there are rats down here. I heard them scurrying around."

Suddenly, Seto felt a little light-headed with relief and surprise. He hadn't been afraid at all? Seto remembered that Mokuba had accidentally locked himself in the toilet of the orphanage once, and once the manager got him out, he was crying and shivering. He had been eight.

"You weren't afraid?"

"I'm not a baby," Aiko repeated, and pouted. "Dark can't hurt you, and neither can rats. It was a little cold, but these newspapers kept me pretty warm. And stop hugging me, dad. It's embarrassing!"

Seto blinked.

"Oh… sorry…" he pulled back a little more, and stood up. Aiko got up too, and shook the newspapers off. Seto looked down at his youngest son for a moment, and even though he was still a little confused, pride was filling his being with its burning, overwhelming warmth. Aiko was really a brave little one. He silently wondered from whom he had gotten that; Jou or himself.

Maybe both.

"Let's get out of here," Seto suggested at last. Aiko smiled up at him and reached for Seto; he wanted to be carried.

As Seto climbed up onto the platform with Aiko on one arm, Kiichi wrinkled his nose a little.

"Damn, Ai," he stated. "You smell terrible!"

* * *

The lockdown was de-activated at exactly 22.13 that night, and Jou was the first person inside the building as soon as the metal barrier had slid aside. The entrance of KC was filled to the brink with employees who spilled out onto the street outside, but Jou didn't pay them any attention. He ran straight to the elevator, got into it as soon as the doors opened, and pushed the button to the 16th floor; Seto's office.

_Bling! _Said the elevator as it reached its destination, and Jou stormed right out of it, through the corridor and up to Seto's office door.

He was sitting by his desk, as if this had been an ordinary day, as if nothing at all was wrong. The only difference was that he was writing on normal paper, with a pen, instead of tapping on his laptop. But he didn't look surprised as Jou stormed in through the door. Only smiled faintly, put a finger to his lips in a shushing motion and nodded at the office couch.

Despite the last ten anxious hours, Jou couldn't help but smile at the sight of all three boys, cuddled up to each other in a heap on the couch. They were entwined in each other in a way that no one should be able to find comfortable, but their faces were peaceful and smiling, as if it wasn't at all painful to have ones neck craned in the way Natani's was.

"Thank god," Jou breathed and silently sat down beside them. He stroked Kiichi's hair tenderly, and the boy mewled and nuzzled his face farther into Aiko's stomach. Jou laughed silently. "Those three are a danger to themselves sometimes. I was so afraid that something would happen to them."

"Nothing happened," murmured Seto, whom had silently snuck up behind Jou. He massaged Jou's neck lightly. "Everything has gone smoothly. Not a single bump in the road."

Jou turned around and took a good look at Seto for the first time in more than twelve hours. He locked… _exhausted_. Pale, ruffled, and with his hair tousled. There were dark bags beneath his half closed eyes, and a lot of stains on his trench coat. Jou had never seen him like that. Ever.

"Is that so?" He asked, and raised an eyebrow. "Then how come Aiko smells like trash, and you look like you haven't slept in weeks?"

"Crap," Seto murmured and pressed his face into the crock of Jou's neck. "You noticed."

Jou tried not to shiver as Seto's mouth moved against his skin as he spoke, but it was hard.

_Make up-sex is great_, a voice in his head chimed.

_SHUT UP! _

"You have to notice things like that, if you're going to raise the Kaiba triplets." He answered instead.

They were silent for a moment, simply enjoying the other's presence, silently wondering where they would be, _what _they would be, without the other.

"I told you so," Jou said at last.

"You sound like a bitching wife," Seto answered and pulled away from his neck. "I shouldn't find that hot."

Jou was disappointed that Seto had pulled away for a second, but then Seto pulled him into his arms and nibbled at his ear, and Jou was disappointed no more.

"Our kids are in the room," he protested, but his voice was quivering.

"I'm not a pervert, Jou. I'm not going to fuck you in my office; I've got more class than that." They looked deep into each others eyes. "But I've hung out with idiots and four-year-olds all day. I'm not just going to let you go now that you're finally here."

That said, he leaned in and claimed Jou's lips. It was a hot and passionate kiss, and suddenly Seto had forgotten all about lockdowns, media storms, and out of control kids. All that mattered was Jou. His Jou, whom opened his mouth so willingly to let him in as Seto's tongue sneaked out to stroke soft lips in a suggestive question.

His hands sneaked up beneath Jou's shirt to stroke his warm, soft back, and he vaguely registered the fact that the blonde's hand were fisted in his hair. A moan vibrated from Jou's throat and straight into Seto as he stroked the inside of the well know, well loved territory that was his husband's mouth. He pulled back a little to nibble at his lower lip, and a mewl escaped the blonde man. His hands slid from Seto's hair to hold on to his shoulders as Seto once again attacked his mouth with a skilled tongue. This time, Jou met him halfway, and they duelled for a moment. Then, suddenly, Jou pulled back, bit down lightly on Seto's lower lip and licked the mark afterwards. Seto got the message: he hadn't been forgiven yet.

Keyword being _yet_.

His hands slid down to squeeze firm buttocks, and the reaction was exactly the one he had hoped for. His lover arched forward, into him, and none of them could stop a low moan at the contact.

"Katsuya…" Seto whispered and kissed him again, hard.

Jou himself was in heaven. His knees were buckling. Oh god, this felt so fucking-

"EEEEEWWW! Dad and daddy are doing the icky stuff again!"

"Can't you just brush your teeth like normal people? Honestly!"

Even thought both of them jumped at the voices, Seto didn't let go of Jou's waist. Not even when Jou spun around and glared at the three boys whom were now awake.

"Natani Katsuya Kaiba! Kiichi Seto Kaiba! Aiko Mokuba Kaiba! _What _have you done?! Do you have any idea how worried I've been these passed twelve hours?! I leave you with your father for _one _day, and you manage to cause this much trouble! What am I supposed to _do _with you?!"

Seto sighed and nuzzled his husbands neck, while Jou let loose on the three little rug rats. He would interfere soon, but right now he just wanted to lean back, and enjoy the feel, smell and sight of the love of his life: Jonouchi Katsuya. God, was he tired!

And _God, _did it sound good to get home and into bed right now!

**THIS ISN'T ACTUALLY THE LAST CHAPTER! I decided to split it in two parts, so it'll be kinda like an epilogue. But I still want my 8 reviews!!! **

**Also, I really wanna know what you thought of the make out-scene. It's the first I've ever written, and I would like to get tips and so on. And don't forget to tell me if you wanna see the triplets in any future fic's from me. I really like to write about them! **

**THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!**

**R&R!!!**


	6. Chapter VI

Chapter 6

"But da-ad!"

"No."

"It's not fair!"

"You're right! It's not! You deserve so much worse than this! I'm way too nice!"

"But our candy! You can't forbid us from eating candy! Please, anything but that!"

The whole family had for the moment bunkered up in Seto's home office, since Seto was partly e-mailing some of his employees, partly working on a statement to make on the press-conference which would take place the following day. It was the day after "the Incident" and after a good night's sleep, a long, refreshing shower, and a great meal made by Jou himself, the two men had gotten their strength back once again.

And now, it was time for the triplets to receive their punishment.

Natani and Aiko looked up into Jou's stone hard eyes with tears streaming down their cheeks. A fair punishment had never been easy to establish in the Kaiba household, mainly because the three brothers tended to blame each other, so Jou had come up with a teeny, tiny solution he liked to call collective punishment; if none of them confessed, all three of them were punished. It wasn't really a fair solution, but it was far better than the alternatives. Since Kiichi had stayed at Seto's side through the whole ordeal, he was considered innocent and stayed unpunished. (Later on he had asked to be grounded too; it simply wasn't fun playing by oneself, whiled one's brothers served their punishment.)

Natani and Aiko, on the other hand, were both claiming that it was the other who had pushed the Lock-down button, and had both been grounded and forbidden to eat candy or play any video games. For Aiko, the punishment would last for two months, and for Natani, five, since he was also being punished for pushing his youngest brother into a refuse chute. This decision was of course met with a wave of high pitched protests from the two involved. Especially since they were both supposed to spend the time in their rooms, and were only allowed to come out during meals and toilet visits.

"Daddy," Natani whispered and crawled on all fours up to Jou. He nuzzled his pant leg. "We're really sorry! We didn't know better. Please, we promise to never do anything like that again. Please?"

"Jou," Seto muttered warily from his place behind his desk. "They really seem to regret it. You should have seen him when he realised he had pushed Aiko for nothing. He was really upset."

Jou looked at Natani with incredulous eyes.

"You used the crocodile tears-trick on your own father? Have you no shame!"

Natani had the decency to look sheepish. He was silently cursing the fact that the trick never seemed to work on their daddy. Jou seemed to have a sixth sense for things like that. Seto looked miffed.

"Crocodile tears-trick?"

"I'm very tempted to make your punishment even worse right now," Jou hissed between gritted teeth. "So why don't you boys leave before I have the chance to think it over? Off to your room, immediately, and if you even think of sneaking into each other's rooms, I will double the punishment."

All three of them scrambled for the door, but Natani stopped in the opening and peered sadly over his shoulder at Seto.

"Dad? I really _am _sorry."

For a moment, Seto's face seemed to soften completely. Then he caught sight of Jou's face, glaring furiously at him, and cleared his throat.

"Go to your room, Natani."

With a disappointed pout on his face, Natani disappeared after his brothers. Jou leaned against Seto's desk and raked a hand through his hair.

"The nerve of that kid," he muttered, but it sounded a lot softer than he had intended.

"He is going to give us grey hair before we turn forty," Seto agreed, still a little bothered by the fact that Natani had fooled him all this time. "I can't believe I fell for his tricks."

"You're not the first," Jou tried to console him. "I have no idea from whom he learned that trick, but it's really effective. My main suspects at the moment are Yugi, Mokuba, and Bakura."

"Bakura?"

"He _is _Ryou's yami, you know. There is a slight possibility."

Seto sighed and leaned his head against the back of the chair. Even though he had everything under control again- the media had been taken care of, the kids had been punished, etc. etc.- there was something nagging him in the back of his mind. An irritation that he couldn't shake of.

"They're my kids. I should be able to read them. I should be able to see through their tricks."

"Well Seto. No offence, but you've always been kinda whipped. It's not something new." Jou suddenly walked around the desk and firmly placed himself in Seto's lap. "But if it's any consolation, I think you should be able to control them a lot better, if you spent more time with them."

Seto frowned as he looked up at the man on his lap.

"Do I sense a bargain coming up?"

"If you call spending more time with your children a bargain…"

"Name your terms."

"Seven to five every day, and the weekends free. No work on holidays, or the kids' birthday."

Seto's frown grew deeper.

"It's on the holidays that our games sell the most. And I never work on their birthday. Six to ten, six days a week, with one free day."

"That's barely an improvement! Seto, we're not seventeen anymore! We've got kids now, and need to take care of them! Seven to six- that's eleven hours!- with weekends and their birthday free. _Plus _a four-week vacation every summer. Oh, and Christmas Eve free! I won't accept anything less!"

Seto was on the verge of protesting, but pictures of the day before flashed through his mind, and he hesitated. Jou was right; he shared his life with four other people now. He had always whished that he had spent more time with Mokuba when he was young… did he truly want to do the same mistake once more? The answer was pure and simple: No.

"Ok, make that a three-week vacation- I still have a company to run and a family to support- and we have a deal."

The smile that split Jou's face told Seto, without the question of doubt, that he had made the right decision. Jou cupped Seto's face between his hands and kissed him gently. Seto's hands tightened around his waist, and as they broke the kiss, Jou put his head on Seto's shoulder and sighed contently.

"You know, normal fathers work from nine to five."

"I'm not a normal father."

"You've got that right."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, and Jou was on the verge of falling asleep, lulled by the sound of Seto's heartbeat and breaths, when Seto's voice woke him up again.

"Did you know that when I found Aiko, he wasn't the least bit scared? He had been locked up for more than an hour, and wasn't the least bit scared."

Jou snorted.

"Of course not. Natani and Kiichi must've locked him up in cellar at least ten times. He wouldn't have survived this long with brothers like that if he didn't have some balls."

"They do things like that to each other?"

"Mhm… but don't worry; Aiko got his revenge. He emptied a bucket of spiders in Natani's bed while he was sleeping, and put itching-powder in all of Kiichi's underwear. They got grounded for a month for that. Although I was a bit reluctant to punish Aiko. He was only acting in self-defence, but you know; the whole "turn the other cheek" thing and so on."

"Jou?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"What kind of monsters are we raising?"

"The worst kind, Seto. But at least they're our monsters. That's gotta count for something."

And silently, Seto thought that yes, that surely counted.

**Time's 21.43 on September the 16th and "Triple Trouble" has COME TO AN END! I really hope you liked this chapter too, even though there really weren't that much humour in it! Leave a review to tell me what you think! PLEASE!!!! **

**Since the triplets seemed to be quite popular among you readers, I promise to post more with them very soon! Keep an eye open for "The downside of happiness"! Coming soon! Thanks to those who's followed this story to the very end! **

**Till next time!!!**

**R&R!!!**


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